


You Need Me

by ICanBreathe



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Drabble, F/F, Post If-Then-Else, Pre Finale, They just hate each other, so much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-03-30
Packaged: 2018-05-30 04:54:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,332
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6409603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICanBreathe/pseuds/ICanBreathe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She had no idea what she was doing here. <br/>Control - Although it wasn't really her name any more, not in that kind of situation - was sitting behind the wheel of an old dusty car, in a street free of any cameras, waiting.<br/>And she didn't have a single clue about what she was doing here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Need Me

She had no idea what she was doing here.

Control - Although it wasn't really her name any more, not in that kind of situation - was sitting behind the wheel of an old dusty car, in a street free of any cameras, waiting.

And she didn't have a single clue about what she was doing here.

She thought she would have gotten used to it by now, after two months of working in close partnership with Harold Finch and his team ; but she hadn't. Not yet. Control, like her government codename indicated, was used to being in charge, being in control and knowing what she had to do even thought she didn't always know why. Now it was the opposite; she knew _why_ she was doing it, but she didn't know the details, didn't know _how_ she was supposed to do it.

Ever since she had understood the real nature of the conflict opposing Samaritan and The Machine, ever since the pieces have been put together and she could fully comprehend what was going on, she had set her mind on finding Samaritan; and working with The Machine was her best bet, which was why she had been running missions with the 4 outcasts for a few weeks now. Her position was different than theirs, more compromising, as she still worked for the Government and was fully on Samaritan's radar. She had to be careful. Which was part of the reason why she didn't know what she had to do next until she was doing it. The less she knew the better,(as long as it didn't compromise her quest for the truth.

That night, she just knew she had to wait in the car. She had gotten an encrypted text from an unknown number - The Machine's way to communicated with her - with an address and an instruction to wait for her contact to show up. She didn't know who to expect. Was her contact a government operative? Someone she already knew? Someone from Harold's team, maybe? She had worked mostly alone in those past few months, but had occasionally been paired up with the tall guy in the suit. They didn't appreciate each other very much, but they were efficient together. She had to admit he was good at what he did, and in a war she finally understood, she was glad to have him on her side. She wouldn't mind if he was her contact for that night's mission. They didn't need to talk or like each other to get the job done.

A movement in her peripheral vision attracted her eyes to the rearview mirror, and her hand instinctively clenched on her gun. She saw a woman approaching, walking purposefully towards the car, and as she came closer she felt a hint of recognition.

"You have got to be kidding me." she muttered under her breath, hand still clenched on her gun.

The other woman's eyes stopped upon the car and she came to a halt when their eyes met, recognizing her too. Samantha Groves - Root, as she liked to be called - looked surprised for a second, angry even; she kept her eyes trained on Control as she started walking towards the car again, composing her face with a makeshift smile, half a second too late.

The passenger door opened and she slipped into the car quietly, settling down next to the older woman before studying her carefully with a hint of a smirk Control knew was fake, for having seen her first knee-jerk reaction to her presence.

"Look who's here! Today is decidedly full of surprises." Root said sarcastically.

"It didn't tell you you were meeting me." Control replied, face blank and void of any emotion, taking a jab at the Machine as ways of introduction in order to keep control of the situation. She was careful not to display how her heartbeat had fastened when the woman had sat down next to her, and no sign could betray that after all this time, she was still scared of her.

" _She_ prefers when I figure things out for myself." Root replied lightly, putting emphasis on the pronoun. "Besides, She didn't warn you either, or else you would be carrying more than just your gun and a knife. No scalpel? No syringes? You're a smart woman who wouldn't make the same mistake twice, right?"

Control suppressed the uneasy feeling in her chest, keeping a straight face and a firm grip on her gun.

"That won't be necessary. Whether you like it or not, your Machine wanted me there, and you would never go against its orders."

Root didn't reply anything, just staring at her and smirking, like she knew some things Control didn't. It infuriated her, and she couldn't help but take one more jab at her.

"By the way, how is Agent Shaw?"

It was purposeful, meant to hurt, and the hint of furry in Root's eyes was worth it. Control smiled a bit, happy to see she was taking the upper hand and Root was no longer smirking. She couldn't help but push a little bit farther.

"Oh I'm sorry. I forgot you haven't heard from her in months. Do you still think she's alive? Didn't your machine help you find her? Or have you stopped looking for h..."

Root was on her seconds later, cutting her sentence short with a knife pressed to her throat, a dangerous light in her eyes and her jaw set tightly.

"You know, nothing is preventing me from killing you." Root said between gritted teeth. "The fact that She allowed you to work with us doesn't mean an accident can't happen."

The look on her face told Control that she wasn't lying. It was a curious change from the smug woman she had tortured a few years back, the one who had told her she saw the Machine as "Much more. My power, my reason for existing, my friend." and was ready to do anything her "God" asked of her. This woman had been dangerous because she believed without questions. The woman who was now threatening her was dangerous because she was questioning her own beliefs. Control swallowed, feeling the knife still pressed tightly against her throat.

"And exactly how many people do you have on your side, _Root_? Now that Agent Shaw is gone, if you kill me you will be what... 3? 4 people and a dog? You _need_ me. If only because I'm one of your only chances at finding out what happened to Shaw exactly."

Root stared at her, unblinking, the knife unwavering against her throat. It was a dangerous slope they were on, an explosive situation that had quickly degenerated because they despised each other so much and couldn't help but push buttons to make the other crack. She remembered how easily Root had taken down a room full of agents and subdued her years ago, after going through a roller coaster of syringes and an un-anesthesied stapedectomy. She knew that knife to her throat was not an empty threat. She didn't falter however, keeping her gaze straight into the woman's eyes, not moving an inch as she slowly observed furry turn into something else. Root's eyes glazed over, not really looking at her anymore, and Control realized The Machine was talking. It only lasted for a few seconds, but then Root's grip on her loosened and she removed the knife, sitting back into her seat.

"As much as I'd like to continue this conversation, we need to move. We can always continue after if I judge your necessity to this mission underwhelming."

Control didn't reply, starting the car without acknowledging the dangerous situation they had been in barely seconds ago. She followed Root's instructions as she drove in silence, her gun sitting in her lap.

Their partnership was precarious at best, and any slip up could end badly for both of them, and the rest of the world.

This was going to be a rough night.


End file.
